I'm gong to take a moment away from my flash to talk to you all about an old friend of mine who hasn't be doing good lately. You will know him as Sonic. Sonic's latest games have crashed and burned on an extreme measure. The once mighty hedgehog's carreer has dramatically fallen over the years. But there is hope for him. A new game dubbed "Sonic the hedgehog 4" aka "Project Needlemouse" promises us that the blue hero will return to his roots!

Now, let's think for a minute: Why has Sonic done such a bad job lately?

There are a few theories out there that his surviving fans have debated. The greatest theory of them all is that Sonic has gone away from his root greatly. Is this the case? For me, it is a very plausible reason, but it's still not an excuse!

To find the source of this problem, we have to find out, not what happened, but WHEN it happened. This goes back when the dreamcast was around, albeit a short time. During the course of its sad lifetime, Sonic relesed three games, two of which I will explain. It was the Sonic Adventure games. Both did considerably well. Sonic got away from the side-scrolling and on to the exploring a 3D world, with a cast of characters with him. With Sonic Adventure 2, a game that did well too, came a character that today is almost as popular as Sonic himself: Shadow.

So, after those games, what happened? Well, Sega became third-party developers and re-relesed the Adventure games on the gamecube, when both did well. Then came Sonic Heroes, the first original game on a non-sega platform. This game did okay, got mediocre reviews, but then came THE BOMB!!!

Shadow the Hedgehog, a game in which you played as the aforementioned Shadow the Hedgehog in an effort to find your past, loaded with guns and vehicles. This game, my friends, suffered greatly. After that, it was one disaster after another! Piles upon piles of no-good nonsense. Our once loved true blue dude with the 'tude is on the verge of death. Is there any hope left for him?

Why has it become this way? Moment of A.D.D., I think one small reason was because of one thing: 4-kids. Yes, the dubbing company that many have claimed ruined anime with it's over the top editing and political correctness. These people got their hands on Sonic X and butchered it, some may say. And these people have gotten into the games with their horrid voice acting! (I will, however, point out that Jason Anthony Griffith is getting a little better) Even if it's a plausible reason, it still won't help if it is fixed.

That's it with the hedgehog history. And so we still wonder, why has this been so? Let's look at this at another angle, shall we? Let's look at another well-known video game character: Mario. You all probably hate Mario's guts because he was at one point Sonic's intense rival. If you are, I don't blame you, dear, loyal, Sonic fan. But, whether you do or don't, bear with me for a moment.

When Mario first came out, it was a simple "left and right" "Jump up and down" platform game, whereas Mario only jumps on enemies to slay them, of course getting a fire flower to shoot fireballs at them, but that was it. Now, let's see Mario today. He has stared in games in which he not only jumps up and down, but punches, twirls, shoots stars, even flies! But the greatest change that he's made, was his gameplay. From linear, get-to-the-end-of-the-level, to free roaming exploration, where the player can uncover secrets and travel all over the level to find the stars. Today, Mario is just as good, if not better than, he was when he first appeared waaaay back in the late '80s. And he shows no sign of faltering. In a way, Mario's carreer is the complete opposite of Sonic's. He is, by far, the king of video game characters. And yet... why is poor old Sonic so different? Where Mario has triumphed, Sonic has fallen?

Here is my opinion on why this has happened. Brace yourselves, you may be tempted to flame and troll me! It is what I believe the harsh and cold truth. Those who disagree, remember that I have a right to express my opinion. Ready?

It is not so much that Sonic has drifted from his roots. I believe this is a minor cause. I believe that Sega isn't trying hard enough! All the games that they've released for him have been half-done jobs and poor Sonic's suffering because of it! They just try to release mediocre games and think it'll do fine. Well, now they're losing money because of it.

Don't believe me? Well, think of this: Sonic Unleashed. Did you notice that the biggest complaint of that game was the slow-as-bricks werehog stages? But what about the day-time stages? Complete opposite, my friends. It was true Sonic gameplay with true Sonic speed. Complete with easy-to-use moves such as the sidestep and the slide...thing. And it occasionally switched to a side-scrolling 2D perspective. This was universally praised. But, this was 3D behind-the-back gameplay! Just like Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog! But, let us remember why it did so well. The graphics were beautiful! The controls were easy! And Sonic, he wizzed through the stages at full true blue Sonic Speed. We all loved the day-time stages. But, why? Maybe it's because Sega put so much effort into this! I have come to believe that had Sega made more day-time stages and less night-time stages, the game would have done better than it has.

That being said, Sonic does fine with the 3D gameplay IF Sega puts their mind and money to it.

Now before you say "Wait, Tillerian! Are you saying that Sonic should stay away from his roots?" Of, course not! We can still have games like Sonic the Hedgehog 4 in which Sonic returnes to the gameplay that brought him to glory. What I'm saying is, Sonic needs to try new things, and when he does, Sega's got to put a lot of effort into it and make it look as good as it can. Maybe then, can he rise up to the glory that he once was.

Well... maybe I'm right... or maybe I'm wrong. But should Sega do as I said, it should be our jobs, the fans, to greet this with the upmost optimism, only then can we truely judge if Sonic should rise from the ashes or fall in the dirt.

Yet, out of all this, one question remains that no one can answer truely. That is the future of the blue hedgehog. Will he be put to rest for all eternity and never to rise again, or will he soar into the sky as high as he once was, or higher? The answer, my fellow fans, remains to be seen and it's all in the hands of the people in control of him: Sega. All we can do for now is wait, watch, pray... and hope.

Whether he fails or succeeds, I must do my part. Should he fall, I shall face it with dignity. I will not waist my life and mope in the dark that my hero is forever gone. No, I will live on and remember him as the great hedgehog he once was as a fond memory in my life. My fellow Sonic fans, I ask of you all to do the same. Wish him the best of luck, root for him, stay loyal to him. And should he fail us, remember him as the hero he was: Sonic the Hedgehog!

That's it for me-
Tillerian